Development of a Comfort Rating Method for Australia’s Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) – Darwin Houses Case Study
Mahsan Sadeghi1,2*, Terence Williamson3, Wendy Miller4, Johanna Kieboom5, Dong Chen1,2
1: Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), Melbourne, Australia;
2: NHMRC Centre for Air pollution, energy, and health Research (CAR), Sydney, Australia;
3: School of Architecture and Civil Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia;
4: School of Architecture and Built Environment, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia;
5: Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics, Northern Territory Government, Darwin, Australia
DOI: 10.62744/CATE.45273.1173-541-551
Email: Mahsan.Sadeghi@csiro.au
Abstract:
In the face of escalating global temperatures and extreme climate challenges, this study addresses the
pressing concern of overheating within homes by introducing a new Comfort Rating Method. Our approach presents a departure from conventional norms in the domain of thermal comfort modelling by incorporating the Effective Temperature index (ET*), which considers not only air and mean radiant temperature but also humidity, essential for holistic comfort assessment. Moreover, we extend our model to account for indoor air movement, a significant contributor to comfort in tropical environments. This method has been embedded in AccuRate, the benchmark software for Australia's Nationwide House Energy Rating Scheme (NatHERS) and validated against real-world data from an extensive Darwin thermal comfort field study. The new comfort calculation method was applied to examine 1,043 dwellings from Commonwealth Scientific Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)'s Australian House Data (AHD) sets. We proposed a 10 comfort bands, providing a framework for evaluating comfort in residential settings. This research not only advances thermal comfort knowledge but also offers architects, designers, and stakeholders a tool to create climate-sensitive, resilient residential buildings. While this study focuses on Darwin only, future research can adapt this method to various extreme climates, refining its model based on regional nuances.
Keywords: Thermal Comfort, Effective Temperature, Extreme Climates, Climate-Sensitive Design, Residential Buildings